Case Officer email - request for further information: letter from IT Professionals New Zealand

[AlexKiwi2019]

Hello all,

INZ are currently processing my LTSSL work visa application, for a job offer I have that most closely resembles the ANZSCO role of ICT Project Manager (135112). After not hearing from my Case Officer until now I received the following email today:

"Dear

This Email is for your work visa application.

In order to approve your work visa, you need to meet below requirement:

- A qualification at NZQF Level 7 or higher, with a letter from IT Professionals New Zealand certifying that the degree and any further learning meet the benchmark requirements towards Chartered IT Professional New Zealand status
AND
a minimum of three years' relevant post-qualification work experience.

I understand you have provided your qualification certificate and work experiences letter, but the letter from IT Professionals NZ is not provided."

This email response has confused me, as when applying for my work visa I reviewed the following evidence checklist for my ANZSCO job role:

ICT Project Manager.JPG

You'll see that I have highlighted the ANZSCO job role on the left and also the UK university degree on the right-hand side that I have. I swiftly also obtained my NZQA IQA statement, to have my UK degree ratified to a Level 7 standard in the topic of Information and Communications Technology (which is one of the specified focus areas highlighted in the above image. My IQA statement reads as follows:

IQA.JPG

I can see that my Case Officer has instead copied and pasted the evidence requirements for an alternative way of proving my credentials, however I believe that with my specific degree and my IQA statement I meet the requirements as highlighted in the image above.

My question therefore is, would anyone with immigration experience agree with my viewpoint? Has my Case Officer perhaps overlooked the detail of my degree and IQA statement, and asked for alternative evidence?

Any advice and input is appreciated. I wish to ask this question on the forum, prior to spending money and time getting a letter from IT Professionals New Zealand.

Thank you.

[JandM]

Your IQA would need to have a specific outcome (one saying that it is comparable to a named one of the NZ qualifications in that listing) for you not to need the IT Professionals NZ letter. What you have is a generic outcome, only saying that it is "A bachelor's degree at Level 7." How long ago did you get your IQA? It might be possible for you to ask them to check if it can be considered comparable.

[AlexKiwi2019]

Hi JandM, thank you for the swift response.

My IQA was completed on 12 February 2019. In my eyes I thought that my IQA statement clearly states I have a bachelor's degree at NZQA Level 7 in the focus area of Information and Communications Technology, which is one of the specified focus areas listed.

From your response it seems this may not be the case, which is a shame. I now wonder if I should contact NZQA as you suggest, or just immediately request and pay for a letter from IT Professionals New Zealand.

Thanks again.

[esk]

THis is very weird actually. I have applied and provide what you have exactly did ; also i have contact IT Professionals New Zealand to ask them about this requirement
---------------------------
Dear Sir / Madam

Greetings ;

I have applied to NZQA for immigration purpose and I want to claim point for occupations under skills shorted list (Developer Programmer ) ; in my NZQA report you have written : " The qualification assessed above meets the credit and knowledge requirements of a qualification listed under the occupation of Developer Programmer."
I would like to know if I still need to apply for ITPNZ - Qualification Recognition or what mentioned in NZQA report is enough ?


Kindly advice .

Regards;
-------------------------------------

Their reply was :

-------------------------------------------------------
Hi

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately I am unable to provide any immigration advice or answer your question as you will need to check with NZ immigration.

Kind regards


-----------------------------------------



This is alert for all of ppl who have IT related qualification .I guess IT Professionals somehow is required this is my thought . I have lodged my application without IT Professionals report . Hope they will not ask my for it after 6 months .

[JandM]

Hi JandM, thank you for the swift response.

My IQA was completed on 12 February 2019. In my eyes I thought that my IQA statement clearly states I have a bachelor's degree at NZQA Level 7 in the focus area of Information and Communications Technology, which is one of the specified focus areas listed.

From your response it seems this may not be the case, which is a shame. I now wonder if I should contact NZQA as you suggest, or just immediately request and pay for a letter from IT Professionals New Zealand.

Thanks again.

A specific IQA has particular wording. As another forum member received from INZ, "your IQA must be returned with a result stating that your qualification is comparable to a specific degree as stated in the list. If your IQA report only states that your qualification is comparable to "A qualification at level 7" or "A qualification at level 8", this result does not meet the requirements of the LTSSL..." The title is part of your foreign degree - INZ require it to be stated as comparable to one of the NZ degrees in the subject mentioned in the listing. I can't TELL you what to do, but in your place, I would think it's worth asking NZQA, especially if you didn't ask when submitting to them for comparison to be made in line with the requirements for a particular job title.

[JandM]

esk, I think it sounds in your case as though the CO may have overlooked that you have a specific outcome on your IQA, so it may be worth raising that with him/her - you might save yourself the time and cost of the IT Professionals step.

[AlexKiwi2019]

A specific IQA has particular wording. As another forum member received from INZ, "your IQA must be returned with a result stating that your qualification is comparable to a specific degree as stated in the list. If your IQA report only states that your qualification is comparable to "A qualification at level 7" or "A qualification at level 8", this result does not meet the requirements of the LTSSL..." The title is part of your foreign degree - INZ require it to be stated as comparable to one of the NZ degrees in the subject mentioned in the listing. I can't TELL you what to do, but in your place, I would think it's worth asking NZQA, especially if you didn't ask when submitting to them for comparison to be made in line with the requirements for a particular job title.

Thanks again JandM. Confirmation that I have contacted NZQA to ask if clarification can be added to my IQA, to state if my UK degree in Information Communications Technology includes the requirements of a New Zealand major in the focus area of Information Communications Technology.

[EGoodhue]

When applying for an IQA from the NZQA website, there is a step which asks you to provide the occpuation group and code for an occupation from the LTSSL you are wishing to use in your visa application - perhaps you missed this step in the NZQA application process? This step signals to NZQA that they need to assess your qualification against the Long Term Skill Shortage List requirements - without this information, NZQA will do a simple assessement of your qualification. If your qualification has been assessed by NZQA against LTSSL criteria, the report you receive will say something to the effect of "The qualification assessed above meets the credit and knowledge requirements of a qualification listed under the occupation of XXXX". If your report doesn't say that, INZ won't accept it for an LTSSL visa application.

Hope you can get it retrospectively done via NZQA!!

[AlexKiwi2019]

When applying for an IQA from the NZQA website, there is a step which asks you to provide the occpuation group and code for an occupation from the LTSSL you are wishing to use in your visa application - perhaps you missed this step in the NZQA application process? This step signals to NZQA that they need to assess your qualification against the Long Term Skill Shortage List requirements - without this information, NZQA will do a simple assessement of your qualification. If your qualification has been assessed by NZQA against LTSSL criteria, the report you receive will say something to the effect of "The qualification assessed above meets the credit and knowledge requirements of a qualification listed under the occupation of XXXX". If your report doesn't say that, INZ won't accept it for an LTSSL visa application.

Hope you can get it retrospectively done via NZQA!!

Hi EGoodhue, thank you for your response.

I remember being very thorough and careful when submitting my IQA application (especially as I paid extra for fast-track), so I am sure I will have completed and submitted everything asked. I specifically remember confirming the IQA was for the purposes of immigration.

As it stands I have emailed NZQA to advise of my current situation, and I will follow-up with a phone call on Monday.

Thanks again.

[AlexKiwi2019]

IQA.JPG

As a point of note, this is an extract of my IQA. I wonder if that last paragraph is what has led to the request for an IT Professionals New Zealand letter? Confirmation though that I am applying for a LTSSL Work Visa, and I am not claiming points as part of my own visa application.